"There’s never been a plan to expand to 32 teams," Daly told ESPN.com Wednesday morning. "Whether we talked conceptually at some point if things are going well whether we could expand to 32, I’m sure we suggested we could, but we certainly never reached the point where that was appropriate when Paul Kelly was executive director of the NHLPA and I’d say we haven’t got there at this point.

"I’d say any sports league aspires to be in a position where expansion is a good idea. But again, it’s got to be the right circumstances."

Speaking at a Tuesday city council meeting in Markham, Ontario, discussing a proposed NHL arena, Kelly said the NHL would add two teams in the next few years, and said that the league had told him so when he was leading the union from 2007-09. He was speaking in support of the proposed GTA Centre, and said the city needed to act if it wanted to secure a franchise in the future.

Daly, according to ESPN, figures Kelly is referring to conversations when the NHL was fighting off Jim Balsillie’s attempt to move the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes to Southern Ontario. Whether the Toronto Maple Leafs have the ability to block another team from moving to the area has long been a question.

"And our position has consistently been that our rules do not give the Maple Leafs a right to veto another franchise in the Toronto territory," Daly said. "That’s something that the board of governors would decide, if the board decided it was a good idea."

As for the Markham situation, Tuesday's meeting actually lasted until around 3 a.m. on Wednesday, with council voting against a motion to rescind approval of the project’s controversial financial framework. Public opposition ran high, with many taxpayers speaking passionately against the use of public funds.

The existing financial framework passed overwhelmingly though council last year, but as time passed, more questions were asked, and opposition grew. Under that plan, Markham would effectively take out a loan for $325-million to fund the construction — and the city would repay half of that total through a number of sources, including a controversial levy placed on local developers.

A private group would be responsible for the other half, with one of the region’s largest developers, The Remington Group, bankrolling the private sector’s half of the total. The 20,000-seat arena would have the capacity of housing an NHL franchise.

The vote to preserve the financial framework does not mean the arena has been approved. There are still a number of issues to be resolved — including a memorandum of understanding with the city.

The existing financial framework passed overwhelmingly though council last year, but as time passed, more questions were asked, and opposition grew. Under that plan, Markham would effectively take out a loan for $325-million to fund the construction — and the city would repay half of that total through a number of sources, including a controversial levy placed on local developers.

A private group would be responsible for the other half, with one of the region’s largest developers, The Remington Group, bankrolling the private sector’s half of the total. The 20,000-seat arena would have the capacity of housing an NHL franchise.

The vote to preserve the financial framework does not mean the arena has been approved. There are still a number of issues to be resolved — including a memorandum of understanding with the city.

The existing financial framework passed overwhelmingly though council last year, but as time passed, more questions were asked, and opposition grew. Under that plan, Markham would effectively take out a loan for $325-million to fund the construction — and the city would repay half of that total through a number of sources, including a controversial levy placed on local developers.

A private group would be responsible for the other half, with one of the region’s largest developers, The Remington Group, bankrolling the private sector’s half of the total. The 20,000-seat arena would have the capacity of housing an NHL franchise.